Friday, August 9, 2013

The Recipe Slam! Part 1

I know, it's been a whole month since I posted last.  It's been nuts!  I had to move my stuff to Rochester, then move out of my apartment, move in with a friend temporarily, and now, I've had to move into my last temporary nest until I finally move completely to Rochester (I'm from NY by the way) so it's been a crazy month, but things are looking a little settled, so I thought I'd make up for lost time with the following recipes:

Quick PB frosting
Korean Squash Soup
Veganized Okinawa Style Taco Rice

If that isn't enough, I'll give you a teaser for a dessert I'm working on for my best friend: Vegan PB Smores Pie!  (Wipe your drool off your chin). :)
I've also found a couple of awesome new vegan websites:
www.artisanveganlife.com
www.thugkitchen.com (mostly vegan, but not completely)

If you wonder if ANYONE speaks like the author of thug kitchen, the answer my friend is YES.  Before you doubt my credibility, you must realize that I am related to one such "flamboyant" speaker: a.k.a. my sister.  So boo ya!
and~ without further ado, here are the recipes:

Quick Peanut Butter Frosting
(for a 5 second frosting fix)

smooth, salted PB
liquid sweetener of choice: agave, honey (not vegan) or maple syrup

1.  it's easy: 2:1 ratio of PB to sweetener (make that 2: 0.5 if you want it less sweet).  stir well to incorporate.  I find that you can chill the frosting to make it more stiff, but because of the sugar, the frosting is stiff enough after stirring for regular consumption.

Korean Squash Soup
(adapted from Maangchi's recipe)

*equipment needed:
blender (immersion or high speed)
3 small mixing bowls
measuring cups/spoons
large stock pot
plate
wet tea towel

ingredients:
2 small butternut squash, washed well, halved and seeds & stringy bits removed
1/4 c sugar (I used organic cane sugar) plus extra
2 c Sweet rice flour (I used Mochiko)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4+ c hot water
1/2 tsp mugwort powder (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1.  In a large stock pot, place cleaned, halved and seeded squash in and cover with water. (if you find the squash too big to fit, quarter the squash, it's fine.)  Boil for 20-30 minutes or until tender.  Remove from pot and let cool.
2.  While squash is boiling, mix rice flour with salt.  ***Here is where the options come in***
**IF you want to just have white rice cake balls, DO NOT DIVIDE THE FLOUR.  Just pour the hot water in and mix until a ball of dough can be formed.  set aside with the moist tea towel or plastic wrap to keep moist.
**IF you want TRI-COLORED RICE CAKES:
divide the flour mix into 3 bowls each with 2/3 c of flour mix.
bowl 1-white rice cakes: mix with 1/4+ c hot water, until a ball of dough can be formed.  wrap in plastic and set aside.
bowl 2-green rice cakes: add 1/2 tsp mugwort powder, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/4+ c hot water (continue like above)
bowl 3-brown rice cakes: add 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/4+ c hot water (continue like above)
3.  Once squash is cooled, scoop out flesh into pot (for immersion blender) or a standing blender and blend with 2 cups of water until smooth.  Pour the mixture back into the pot with 2-3 cups more water (depending on how thick you like it), adding 1/4 c sugar as well.  Bring to a boil.
4.  While the soup is being brought to boiling, begin rolling the rice cakes into little balls the size of marbles.  You can make them larger if you like, but keep in mind that the rice cakes expand some while cooking.  When the soup is boiling, drop the rice cakes in.  Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the rice cakes float (you may have to help it along a little bit by stirring to see if cakes float as the soup can be somewhat thick).
Garnish with some pine nuts or serve as is.  Enjoy!

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